With the use of mobile electronic devices such as smart phones, tablet computers, and smart wearable devices becoming an indispensable part of modern life, device-to-device interaction is expected to become the seamless digital extension of ad-hoc interpersonal communication.
A prerequisite to device-to-device interaction is device-to-device awareness. Device-to-device awareness is defined herein as the capability of electronic devices to discover (identify), map, and track other electronic devices, typically in real time.
During device discovery, information such as a device identifier (ID), a hash key, and supported protocols may be exchanged with other electronic devices and verified. Device discovery enables further data exchange (sometimes in higher bandwidth channels than the channel(s) used for device discovery.) The Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) handshake protocol is one example of a device discovery handshake protocol. Poor response time (handshake latency) has been an issue with BLE handshakes. For example, the low duty cycle and frequency hopping used in BLE handshakes has resulted in discovery times of up to ten seconds, coupled with another five seconds of paging time. Ideally, the device discovery process should be capable of being completed in less than a few (or couple) seconds.